Robert L. Ghormley

Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley, 1942

Robert Lee Ghormley (born October 15, 1883 in Portland , † June 21, 1958 ) was a Vice Admiral in the US Navy during World War II .

Military career

Ghormley graduated from the US Naval Academy in Annapolis in 1906 and then served on various cruisers for five years . From 1911 to 1913 he served as flag lieutenant of the Commander in Chief of the US Pacific Fleet , taking part in the 1912 campaign against Nicaragua . He then served at the US Naval Academy. Lieutenant Commander Ghormley served as flag assistant on the battleship USS Nevada during World War I. Later in the war, he became vice director of the Naval Overseas Transportation Service . From 1920 to 1922 he commanded the patrol boat USS Niagara and the destroyer USS Sands in the Mediterranean .

In July 1921 he was promoted to commander . From 1923 to 1925, he served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy and Executive Officer (XO) on the battleship USS Oklahoma for the next two years. In 1927 he served on the Secretary of the Navy's General Board in Washington, DC Captain Ghormley was chief of staff for the battle fleet and the commanders of the US fleet in the early 1930s. After working with the Chief of Naval Operations , he became commandant of the USS Nevada in 1935 and returned to the US Navy staff after a year. In 1938 he completed the senior course at Naval War College .

Rear Adm. Ghormley was Chairman of the War Plans Department and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations until August 1940. He was then transferred to the United Kingdom to serve as a naval observer. Vice Admiral Ghormley served as commanding admiral of the Pacific Fleet and the troops there from June to October 1942 during the critical early stage of the Guadalcanal campaign ( Guadalcanal and Tulagi ). After a few months of service back in Washington, DC, he returned to the Pacific and became the commandant of the 14th Naval District in Hawaii . From August 1940 to March 1942 he was deployed as a Special Naval Observer in London and took over command of the US Naval Forces Europe from March to April as the first . In December 1944, Vice Admiral Ghormley became commander of the US Naval Forces Germany and served in this role until December 1945. Most recently, he served on the staff of the Department of the Navy and was retired in August 1946. Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley died on June 21, 1958.

Web links

• Official Biography (English)